By Rachael Gleason
rachaelkaygleason@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
Sept. 24, 2009
An Ohio professor finds answers to Great Lakes climate questions in an unlikely place — the rings of trees growing in the Pacific Northwest.
“We use tree rings to tell us how the past climate changed before written history,” said Gregory C. Wiles, professor and chair of geology at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio.
Tree rings, evidence of new growth in a tree, reveal more than just age. They show cycles of wet weather, drought and temperature changes.
“What it comes down to is weather,” …

(MI) Detroit Free Press – When Scott Raymond saw Sable, a German shepherd mix, on a video at an animal shelter in 2006, he knew the dog was right for the job he had in mind. Raymond’s plan was to train Sable to sniff out illegal sewer connections, which dump billions of gallons of bacteria-filled water into rivers, lakes and streams each year, shuttering beaches, contaminating fish and costing millions in cleanups and lost tourism and recreation.

(NY) Treehugger – The sprawling campus of Michigan State University takes in 5,200 acres. There are trees that shade the landscape and a Red Cedar River that runs through it. Researchers have just found a 16,000- to 20,000-year-old sand dune on the campus, too, beneath a grove of pine trees.

(OH) The Toledo Blade – Staying one step ahead of algae. That’s the goal of a $269,500 initiative the federal government launched this summer for Lake Erie’s western basin, the warmest and shallowest part of the Great Lakes.

(MI) Traverse City Record Eagle-  There are a dozen variations — “shoot first and ask questions later,” “it’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission,” etc. We’ve heard them all. In some building and developer circles the intent is the same even if the wording is a little different; it could be “bulldoze now, get a permit if you have to.”

(NY) The New York Times – A federal judge has ruled that the government failed to adequately assess the environmental impacts of genetically engineered sugar beets before approving the crop for cultivation in the United States. The decision could lead to a ban on the planting of the beets, which have been widely adopted by farmers.

(IL) Chicago Tribune – In July, the Chicago District of the Corps found that village-owned wetlands west of Mark Smith’s Prairie Park condominium development at 700 N. Wolf Rd. had been filled improperly. Smith and village officials agree Smith’s company, Smith Family Construction Inc., did the filling without authorization or approval from village officials.

(MI) The Alpena News – A group of scientists who have been studying three Lake Huron sinkholes within the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary will go on the lake today to gather geological data to wrap up more than a year of research.

(MI) Bay City Times – The Michigan Public Service Commission is receiving more than $1 million in federal stimulus money to help implement smart grid technology projects in Michigan.

(NY) The New York Times – Last Friday, cities and towns throughout the world celebrated Park(ing) Day, an event created to bring awareness to the importance of using and enjoying public space.